Saddharmapuṇḍarīka-upadeśa

Vasubandhu

Saddharmapuṇḍarīka-upadeśa ("Commentary on the Lotus Sutra"). A commentary on the Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra (aka. Lotus Sūtra) by Vasubandhu.

This text emphasizes the ekayāna, the single buddha vehicle to enlightenment, and the tathāgatagarbha.

Groner and Stone (2014) states:

Only one Indian commentary on the Lotus Sutra survives, a work attributed to Vasubandhu. The two Chinese translations (or recensions) of this text are by Bodhiruci (?–527; t no. 1519) and by Guṇamati (n.d.; t 1520). Both were in China at the same time, roughly from 508–535, but were unable to cooperate on the translation. The text was particularly important because it introduced the three bodies of the Buddha and the four types of śrāvakas to the discourses on the Lotus Sutra. The text was used extensively b y the Sanlun exegete Jiz ang 吉藏 (549–623), who wrote a commentary on it, the Fahualun shu 法華論疏 (t no. 1818).

In addition, because Vasubandhu was an important figure in Yogācāra thought, the commentary was also valued by Hossō scholars—it is also mentioned in Zhiyi’s 智顗 (538–597) Fahua xuanyi 法華玄義 (Profound meaning of the Lotus Sutra), in sections that were possibly added by Zhiyi’s disciple Guanding 灌頂 (561–632) as he polished and edited the text.

The commentary was also used by early Japanese Tendai scholars: Saichō brought back several works on the commentary (dz 5 [bekkan]: 152, 154) and wrote an outline (kamon) of the text (dz 3: 741–768), and Enchin composed a ten-fascicle commentary on it, Hokkeron ki 法華論記, which quotes extensively from Tang-dynasty texts of the Tiantai, Sanlun, and Faxiang traditions, several of which are no longer extant (Fujii and Ikebe 2001–2003; Maegawa 1995).

Bodhiruci translation

This text was translated into the Chinese by Bodhiruci and Tan-lin, as Miaofa lianhua jing youbotishe (妙法蓮華經憂波提舍). 2 fascicles.

Note that the text of the Lotus Sūtra upon which the Chinese translation is based differs from that translated into Chinese by Kumārajīva (Taishō 12), bearing instead a close resemblance to the Nepalese manuscripts of the sūtra.

English translation

• Abbot, Terry (2013). The Commentary on the Lotus Sutra, in: Tsugunari Kubo; Terry Abbott; Masao Ichishima; David Wellington Chappell, Tiantai Lotus Texts. Berkeley, California: Bukkyō Dendō Kyōkai America. pp. 83–149. 

Sources

• Abbot, Terry (2013). The Commentary on the Lotus Sutra, in: Tsugunari Kubo; Terry Abbott; Masao Ichishima; David Wellington Chappell, Tiantai Lotus Texts. Berkeley, California: Bukkyō Dendō Kyōkai America. pp. 83–149. 
• Groner, Paul; Stone, Jacqueline I. (2014), "Editors' Introduction: The "Lotus Sutra" in Japan", Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, 41 (1): 1–23, archived from the original on June 14, 2014